Mop wringer/bucket combination systems are widely used in floor cleaning and swabbing operations, especially in, but not limited to, commercial environments. In normal practice, once the swab type mop employed to clean or mop a floor has become saturated, it is inserted into the wringer, where its moisture is squeezed out of the mop strands and into the bucket which mounts the wringer. The mop is then withdrawn from the wringer for further mopping. This basic system is also commonly used to clean floor surfaces when there is a cleaning liquid in the bucket. The swab mop is inserted into the bucket to soak in the liquid and is then put through the wringer to shed its excess liquid before being used on the floor.
There are many such commonly used wringer/bucket combination systems, some of which are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,070,574, 5,440,778, 5,548,865, 5,615,446, 5,974,621, and 6,671,923. However, while some of these prior systems are effective in performing the mop wringing function, they are generally unstable, given the top heavy design of the wringer on the bucket. The very mounting of the wringer on the rim of the bucket results in the wringer being unsteady. This instability is exacerbated when the mop is inserted into the wringer; buckets, with wringers attached, often tip over, especially during this use. Further, most of the prior systems have a substantial number of connecting and moving parts which are prone to wear and failure. This, of course, makes the system inefficient over the life of the mop and bucket unit.